Perspectivas / Perspectives

This is a reality for more than 245 million Christians today. They often face physical violence towards themselves or loved ones or lose homes and jobs because of their faith in Jesus. But their burdens are not meant to be carried alone if we are able to show enough compassion and solidarity.

Christian persecution is intransigent and cruel in many parts of the world in this XXI Century. North Korea, China, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Mali, Somalia, are just a few among many places where Christians are persecuted, tortured and killed.

In many other places, such as Cuba or Vietnam, Christians are treated as second-class citizens, marginalized and discriminated against. Even in democratic countries where a rule of law prevails, campaigns are being carried out aimed at eradicating the idea of ​​God from all aspects of public life, especially in his Christian concept, disregarding the inalienable right to religious freedom.

North Korea is among the worst cases of Christian persecution. The country has been No. 1 on Open Doors’ World Watch List —the annual list of the places in the world where it’s hardest to follow Jesus— for more than a decade. There are tens of thousands of Christians who are imprisoned or under arrest for their faith.

In spite of this cruel policy of repression, to “prove” they value freedom of religion, North Korea built four churches in the capital city of Pyongyang. But most observers say these “show churches” are in fact empty expressions of faith, and only exist to try to disguise North Korea’s brutal treatment of Christians. In one of them, the church leaders were comprised of North Korean intelligence officers who were baptized quickly and without any real knowledge of the Christian faith, and suddenly elevated to church leadership. On the other hand, materialistic indoctrination has carved itself so deeply into the minds of Koreans oppressed by a ruthless communist dictatorship that their views of reality have been cast into a purely materialistic mold, so the idea of an unseen God is incomprehensible for them.

However, when they have an encounter with Christian ideas, there is often a process of astonishment at facing a doctrine of peace, harmony and brotherly love that leads to conversion, but at the same time subjects them to the fear of being discovered and condemned to ruin, torture and death, a fate their unconverted relatives will also suffer.

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